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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. degree — an amount
  3. stock — goods
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. club — for golf
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bank — of a river
  9. file — a document
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. club — a group
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bank — for money
  15. degree — temperature
  16. club — for dancing
  17. wake — a trail
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bank — for money
  20. stock — shares
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. file — a tool
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. degree — from a university

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com